Sunday, 28 October 2012

The Kill Order by James Dashner (4/5)

The back says:The prequel to the New York Times bestselling Maze Runner series.

Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the
Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease.

Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving
the sun flares was easy compared to what came next. Now a disease of rage and
lunacy races across the eastern United States, and there’s something suspicious
about its origin. Worse yet, it’s mutating, and all evidence suggests that it
will bring humanity to its knees.

Mark and Trina are convinced there’s a way to save those left living from
descending into madness. And they’re determined to find it—if they can stay
alive. Because in this new, devastated world, every life has a price. And to
some, you’re worth more dead than alive.

I say: As much as I loved theMaze Runner Trilogy, the one thing
that I always wanted to know was how it all started; why the kids were sent
into the maze and how the earth turned into what it had become. Much to my
great joy – I literally shouted YAY!
when I found out about this prequel – James Dashner decided to let us all know
how it started.

And
glad am I that he did.

Usually, I get kind of annoyed having to
read (or see) prequels; I always wonder why they just didn’t tell us the entire
story from the get go, but this time it was ok. Perhaps because the first book
in the trilogy, The Maze Runner, started out with
such a bang I was much more focused on what was coming rather than what had led
to it.

Either way, in The Kill Order we find out exactly everything that I wanted to know
– amazing, really. I can’t really go into details about the plot since that
would equal spoilers, and also I think the blurb above is sufficient. What I
really like was that Dashner answered all of the questions in a plausible way
and left the story exactly where it needed to end without dragging anything
out. As always, it was fast paced with a lot of twists and turns and he kept
me guessing at how they were going to pull it off. Most importantly, I liked
all of the characters – he is great with creating believable characters – and I
liked all of the subplots and side-tracks that came out of nowhere.

So yeah, having found out how it all
started I would still recommend reading the trilogy first and then The Kill
Order; it’ll make it all the more interesting – and frustrating trying to
figure it all out. I have really loved the mind games that Dashner has played
on me, and I wouldn’t mind reading more of his works.